Despite the launch of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan's (
"I am against the merger," said Lin Po-lun (
"Vote captain" is a term used to describe influential local personalities who are capable of gathering votes for candidates.
"The reason I'm against it is that people in southern Taiwan generally do not have a good impression of Mainlanders," Lin said, referring to the widespread impression of the PFP as a "Mainlander party."
PFP members have strongly disputed this characterization.
The PFP's perceived aggressiveness is another reason that many grassroots KMT members find the merger proposal unattractive, said a grassroots KMT supporter surnamed Chen.
"The KMT is a party of mo-desty," said Chen, a resident of Kaohsiung City.
"The PFP has left us with the impression of being belligerent and aggressive, which we do not like," Chen said.
Chen's remarks echo those of KMT Legislator Tseng Tsai Mei-tsuo (
"Believing that the KMT should uphold an image of being rational and moderate, many grassroots supporters find the PFP's actions unacceptable," said Tseng Tsai, who represents a constituency in Yunlin County.
Tseng Tsai was referring to behavior such as that displayed by PFP Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) on election night.
Outraged by the results of the presidential election -- in which Lien, running on a ticket with his PFP counterpart James Soong (
Meanwhile, PFP Legislator Shen Chih-hui (
On the Friday following the election, PFP Legislators Lee Ching-hua (
"[The Taipei demonstrations] definitely had a strong effect -- in an unfavorable way -- on locals' impressions of the PFP," said Tseng Tsai, referring to the series of street demonstrations that the KMT-PFP alliance, in its attempt to challenge the result of the election, staged in front of the Presidential Office in the weeks following the voting.
One demonstration in particular left a bad impression: the one on April 10, which turned ugly and violent as some protesters refused to leave the protest site when the event's permit expired.
Clashes broke out between riot police and angry demonstrators, resulting in injuries to 127 people, including 86 police officers, 27 protesters and 14 reporters, according to Taipei police.
It was noticeable that among the pan-blue politicians who addressed the protesters at the protest venues, PFP legislators spent noticeably more time behind the microphone than did KMT figures.
The KMT's pro-localization members kept a comparatively low profile throughout the events.
Some KMT legislators, particularly those representing the nation's central and southern constituencies, questioned the wisdom of holding street demonstrations.
Tseng Tsai said that the KMT had in recent years transformed its public image from one strongly associated with Mainlanders into one that now, as a result of the party's cultivating younger Taiwanese politicians, seems more in touch with the nation and its people.
"Many grassroots leaders have expressed concern that the KMT might be again become `Mainlander-ized' or 'PFP-ized' should it merge with the PFP," Tseng Tsai said of the doubts harbored by a large segment of grassroots KMT supporters.
Soong formed the PFP after his failed campaign during the presidential race in 2000.
"The PFP then broke away from the KMT because of ideolo-gical differences," Tseng Tsai said.
"The PFP needs to make clear the reasons that it now wants to rejoin the KMT," he said.
Chiu Teh-hung (
Chiu said the phrase "exterior competition" is easy to understand, as it refers to the KMT's political rivals in the pan-green camp, and that "interior worry" refers to the KMT's concerns about the PFP's ambitions.
Chiu said that the PFP, via its high-profile protests against the Chen Shui-bian administration, had left vast numbers of pan-blue supporters with the impression that it is overly combative -- but that it has consequently attracted support from so-called "deep blues."
"With its deep-blue supporters running off to the PFP and its moderate voters drifting to the pan-green camp as result of moderates' disapproval of the street protests, how much support will the KMT be able to draw on in the year-end legislative elections?" said Chiu, who is also the chief of staff for the vice speaker of the Miaoli County Council.
Echoing Chiu's comments, KMT Legislator Chang Chang-tsai (
Taiwan Solidarity Union legislative leader Chen Chien-ming (
"If the KMT lowers its guard, it could get beaten by the PFP [in the December elections]," Chen Chien-ming said.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
RSS